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Post by Shutter Girl on Oct 25, 2004 12:55:19 GMT -5
My friend Laurie was just hired as our library system's literature specialist. This question appeared on her interview:
Bob Dylan is often considered a lyrical poet. Name another rock musician that could hold this title and explain why.
Who's lyrics really move you?
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Kram
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Posts: 21
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Post by Kram on Oct 25, 2004 13:20:37 GMT -5
Lemme guess... she said Britney Spears? No wait- Bon Jovi? AC/DC? Michael Jackson? 2 Live Crew?
On an unrelated topic I saw Phish on PBS last night. Nouvo Dead, IMO. They weren't bad BUT I changed the channel and Time Life was doing it's infomercial on their Classic Rock boxed set and EVERY SINGLE BAND on it was way better than Phish.
Phish should listen to King Crimsons latest The Power to Believe and practice, practice, practice. They may be better than the Dead but that ain't sayin' much.
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Post by stubedoo on Oct 25, 2004 14:47:11 GMT -5
I've never really understood the whole Phish thing anyway. My guess is that if they didn't have the cool name they wouldn't have had the success they had.
I'm a closet Dead fan of sorts. There are certain songs and albums I really like, but I went to a few Dead shows before Jerry died and to be honest, I didn't see the appeal.
I liked the Jerry Garcia Band much more. Jerry never really impressed me as being much of a guitarist--he was more of a noodler, but the overall band sounded good.
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Post by Shutter Girl on Oct 25, 2004 18:40:40 GMT -5
Lemme guess... she said Britney Spears? No wait- Bon Jovi? AC/DC? Michael Jackson? 2 Live Crew? Actually, it was Ani DiFranco but I'm not entirely sure that's much better! We tried watching that Phish thing too but couldn't get into it. I guess they're not really bad, they're just.....not there. One of my nephews is a big Deadhead and Phish fan. What is it about the Deadhead culture that's so appealing do you guys think?
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Post by RepairmanJack on Oct 26, 2004 13:17:09 GMT -5
I think you hit it on the head when you said culture. IMHO it was/is never about the music. I think the fans are really just trying to fit in to what they think is a "cool" culture. It is trying to get into the right clique in high school all over again.
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TriKrona
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Post by TriKrona on Oct 26, 2004 13:55:08 GMT -5
What I never got about the Dead thing was how people seemed to pick it up for four years and largely discard it after that. Annoying. It comes off as yet another adolescent phase and reduces music to fad. And I hate the dancing bears. I want to break out the shotgun everytime I see them plastered on a car.
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Post by RepairmanJack on Nov 2, 2004 0:37:28 GMT -5
I read an article awhile ago (I will have to try to find it again) where the author argued that lyrics really don't matter. They are incidental to the music. The author felt that except for an occasional line or verse most lyrics are not that good. They do not make sense and are secondary to the music. Actually, I agree with that for most songs. There are quite a few songs that only one line or verse really resonates with me, but the rest of the lyrics are basically boring/mediocre. Yes, there are some really talented songwriters who can maintain a high level through the whole song, but not many. Does anyone else have any opinions either way on this??
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TriKrona
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Posts: 28
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Post by TriKrona on Nov 2, 2004 11:32:16 GMT -5
Are lyrics important? Hells yes! At least they are in the music I tend to listen to and enjoy. In recent years this has been punk rock which has always seemed to me to invite the listener to sing/chant along with the music. And in that case the words are important. On a personal level, I find most insturmental music boring. And not to reduce the notion to the absurd, but if lyrics aren't important what separates a good song from a catchy commercial jingle?
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Post by stubedoo on Nov 2, 2004 14:42:39 GMT -5
Lyrics may be important, but I generally don't listen to them. I listen to vocals as another instrument. Much of the music I like is in languages I don't understand.
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TriKrona
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Posts: 28
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Post by TriKrona on Nov 2, 2004 16:50:36 GMT -5
Yes! Listening to people sing in other languages is very cool. J-pop, Cherokee songs and dances, Andean music, some opera=good good stuff.
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Post by Shutter Girl on Nov 2, 2004 16:53:57 GMT -5
Are lyrics important? Hells yes! At least they are in the music I tend to listen to and enjoy.... And not to reduce the notion to the absurd, but if lyrics aren't important what separates a good song from a catchy commercial jingle? Good point! I love to listen to the lyrics of the songs I enjoy and I think the melding of a great lyric and fitting melody makes for a perfect song. Does a song have to have great lyrics for me to enjoy it? No, of course not. There are a lot of songs with lyrics that are non-sensical or indecipherable that I enjoy (Porcupine Tree comes to mind). But those songs that have wonderful lyrics and a beat to match.... Wonderful!! It's one of the reasons I love Tull so much --- Ian has delivered this combo time and time again. I enjoy songs in other languages as well, Stu. I love Leif Sorbye's Norwegian songs from Tempest and just last night I was picking up Indian take-away and adored the Punjabi music playing in the background. That's one of the great things about music: It's possible for everyone to get something different out of it.
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ZD
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Post by ZD on Mar 19, 2005 19:23:20 GMT -5
I like the lyrics generally if they're interesting. The way I see it, a mediocre song can be a real gem with the right lyrics, and a perfectly wonderful musical arrangement can be totally spoiled with rotten lyrics.
Most of the 'rock' genre songs don't have much substance to them unfortunately. I tend to listen to the rock stuff for the music, and the lighter stuff for the lyrics I guess.
Such is my take on the issue... Regards, ZD
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marcus
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Post by marcus on Jan 4, 2006 16:48:05 GMT -5
Lemme guess... she said Britney Spears? No wait- Bon Jovi? AC/DC? Michael Jackson? 2 Live Crew? On an unrelated topic I saw Phish on PBS last night. Nouvo Dead, IMO. They weren't bad BUT I changed the channel and Time Life was doing it's infomercial on their Classic Rock boxed set and EVERY SINGLE BAND on it was way better than Phish. Phish should listen to King Crimsons latest The Power to Believe and practice, practice, practice. They may be better than the Dead but that ain't sayin' much. I have a different opinion for this one, I like Phish & the Dead, they are similar in 3 ways: 1 the traveling carnival, 2 different setlist every night (each can play about 6 shows, 2 sets a show and not repeat one song), and 3 the use of improvisation. As far as what they sound like, they are completely different. Phish is more jazzy and Zappa-esque than they sound like the Dead. But as far as practice goes Phish has some very interesting ways of exploring improvisation. I could go on for a while on this but I won't, I'll just say that each show was a completely unique experience musically and whatever else, (both The Dead & Phish). I forget who said this but "there are people who like ice cream, people who don't, & theres the people who really really really love ice cream." If you can find it, download for a version of Phish's song You Enjoy Myself, live or studio, you still might not be impressed, but you know they have definitely put their time in practicing.
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